Sunlight's Semblance
by Ascension and Descension
Summary: Two hundred years after humanity's fall, Pokémon now live without the presence of humans. After generations of stories and tales being passed down, a small group of explorers decide to try and find out what really happened to humanity, and what the strange extinct species truly existed for. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Meeting the Sunlight

**Summary:** Two hundred years after humanity's fall, Pokémon now live without the presence of humans. After generations of stories and tales being passed down, a small group of explorers decide to try and find out what really happened to humanity, and what the strange exctinct species truly existed for.

 **Warnings:** Violence, some blood and (maybe) gore, profanity, survival, maybe shipping.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon and I don't intend on making any profit from this fan fiction.

 **A/N:** Totally my first fan fiction. Totally. Anyway, this has only been checked and read through by me, so any mistakes are my fault. **  
**

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 **Chapter 1: Meeting the Sunlight**

 _Heartfire, cycle 208_

Morning slowly crept up on the Sinnoh region. The sun's rays gradually spreading out over the land and waking up the diurnal inhabitants of the region. Bird pokémon took flight into the cool morning air, diving and gliding through the sky as they sung their first songs of the day. Life began emerge in the undisturbed forests; pokémon of all types greeted the morning light as soon as it fell on their den. In ancient towns and cities, pokémon made their way onto the overgrown streets full of wooden stalls they had built together, stocking them up with food and supplies.

In a small forest south of the Hearthome Settlement, one young pokémon in particular was waking up as well. Crawling out of his den and looking somewhat thinner than he was meant to, was a young riolu of five moons by the name of Tyrus. His blue and black fur was patchy, and his body was covered with bruises and scratches. He let out a yawn and stood on his hind legs to stretch. His yawn was interrupted when a golden brown leaf landed on the end of his nose, causing him to frown. Leaves had always been green to him, never this strange colour. He looked around and was shocked to see leaves of the trees were becoming the same. What was once luscious and green and healthy was now wilting and becoming colours of crimson and gold. With a pang of panic, the young riolu realised what was happening.

Autumn was on its way. And if autumn was on its way, then that scary time his mother told him about wasn't far behind.

He had to get food. He had to try and save up enough to last him through the time his mother had warned him about. He couldn't even remember its name, but he could remember the way his mother had described it. _The world becomes far more dangerous than it is now. Finding food becomes far more difficult, and the air becomes deathly cold. That's why we need to prepare as soon as autumn comes..._ But autumn had come and he had barely enough food to feed himself as it was. Ever since his mother had disappeared two moons ago, he had barely managed to make it through the rest of the summer.

 _No!_ Tyrus thought with determination, _I have to do this. I have to survive!_ With that resolve, the young riolu set off from his den and into the forest in search of food. Like himself, many other pokémon were searching for food in the forest, and this made it far more difficult. The reason why he hadn't been able to get much food was because of the competition. Almost every time he found a berry bush or a fruit tree, another pokémon or even a group pokémon would appear and chase him away from his prize. On rare occasions he did manage to get food without being chased off, but being young and without a parent, he was far too timid to try and fight back. He didn't know _how_ to fight, only how to run away before getting attacked. That's what made it more difficult for him to survive.

Today was going to be different. Today he was going to successfully find food, and if a pokémon challenged him for it, he was going to successfully chase _them_ off instead. Then he was going to joyfully tuck into his prize, feasting on juicy berries and sweet apples and whatever else he could get his paws on. His fantasising about food was cut short when his body involuntarily shivered. The air felt far cooler than it had in the summer, and it caused another panic-filled moment where the emanation pokémon realised the dangerous time after autumn. He hurried his pace through the forest, his eyes darting around the wilting foliage for any sign of food.

It must have been two or three hours before Tyrus finally came across food. His eyes shone with excitement and hunger when he saw the masses of berries and fruit stored in an old tree stump. Wait...a tree stump? He blinked and looked around, there wasn't any pokémon nearby but something had certainly stored this food here. He started to feel distressed now, his hunger anchoring his instinct to take some food before getting seen. But this was someone else's food, someone had worked hard to forage and store it here. He couldn't just _take_ it, could he? He was so, so hungry, though... He couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of the food, he _needed_ it. At this rate he was going to starve, and he didn't need to take all of it. Just enough to keep him fed. There would be plenty left for whoever stored it in the first place.

With his mind made up, the riolu shakily stepped out from the bushes and edged his way towards the old stump. His eyes were focused solely on the food, all of his senses were focused on the food. That was his first mistake. The empty, gnawing feeling in his stomach grew as he drew closer before he finally reached the store of food. He remained motionless for a moment, simply staring at the different colours of berries and fruits, their sweet scent overpowering his senses. Eventually, he reached out and grabbed a berry. That was his second mistake.

There was a sharp growl. He flinched so violently he dropped the berry he had picked up before spinning around, trying desperately to see which direction the growl had come from. He heard bushes rustle to his right and instinctively snapped his head around in that direction, his eyes widened in fright at the pokémon before him. The pokémon bared its fangs at him before sauntering into the clearing. It was far larger than him, towering over the canine-like pokémon at six feet. Its claws were sharp and deadly and its eyes glared daggers at the young riolu. An ursaring.

He hastily stepped back as the ursaring advanced on him before tripping on a tree root and falling on his back. He whimpered when the bear pokémon placed its paws none too gently either side of his body, his breath becoming shallow and panicked as it drew it's face up to his. His eyes were wide and locked on the ursaring's sharp teeth, he could feel its breath on his face. This was it. It was going to tear into him. It was going to kill him.

Tyrus closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. His whole body was rigid with fear, and yet trembled in terror at the same time. He whimpered again when the ursaring snarled and moved even closer, however its movements froze when a small voice called out.

"Mama?"

He felt the large pokémon's presence shift away from him and dared to open one of his eyes. He blinked when he saw the ursaring had turned its head to look behind, and when he followed its gazed, he understood why. Standing a few meters away with curious expressions were three young teddiursa who must have been roughly the same age as him. The ursaring glanced back at him before snorting and rising to its hind legs. For a few tense moments it stared at him before speaking.

"Get out of here."

The young riolu blinked. _Huh._

The mother ursaring bared her teeth. "Didn't you hear me? Go!"

He didn't need to be told a third time. He quickly scrambled to his paws before taking off on all fours into the forest. He didn't know if he passed any food on his panicked dash away from the ursaring's den, the only thing he was focused on was getting to somewhere safe. He was extremely lucky to get out of that situation unharmed.

Soon enough he was following the river back to his den. He dived into his den at full speed, landing right against the dirt wall. He lay there for a few minutes, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Once he had calmed down, he closed his eyes and curled into a ball. He felt so pathetic. Like so many times before, he had failed to get food, but this time he failed far worse. This time his failure almost got him _killed_. What was he going to do? How was he going to survive when autumn passed? He could feel tears stinging at his eyes as the reality of his situation weigh down on him. He thought back to those three teddiursa thought about how lucky they were. How lucky they were to still have their mother, to still have the protection she provided and the food she fed them. Why did they have it so easy while he was barely managing to feed himself? It wasn't fair.

 _Life isn't always fair, Tyrus. The situation you'll be forced into, long-term or short-term, may sometimes be difficult. But you have to stay strong and live through it. Complaining gets you nowhere._ His mother's words echoed in his mind again, and he knew complaining wasn't going to get him anywhere. He sat up and wiped the dampness from his eyes; he wasn't going to survive by crying.

He left his den again to search for food. Seeing the river that ran a few meters next to his den made him realise how thirsty he had become from running away from that ursaring's den. He gathered water into his paws and drank, feeling grateful that his mother had made their den so close to the river. Thinking about it made the young riolu remember something his mother had said a few suns before disappearing. Something completely insignificant to him then that wasn't so now.

 _We'll have to move dens when Heartfire comes._

It was Heartfire now. He frowned and glanced back at the den he had always lived in. Why did they – _he_ – have to move? It was in the perfect spot. A good water supply, near many food sources, and it was somewhat sheltered. What was the problem? And where would he even go to make a new den? He didn't get it.

Shaking his head, he set off into the forest once more. In the distance, dark stormy clouds rolled from Mt. Cornet, bringing the heavy autumn rain.

* * *

It came so suddenly. He dashed through the forest once more for cover of his den as the rain pelted down hard. It came so suddenly that he had flinched when it hit his body all at once. His fur was soaked, and rain water kept running into his eyes. The forest floor that was dry and dusty from the summer was now muddy and slippery, causing him to slip into trees and bushes. Other pokémon were also running for cover, trying to escape the harsh rain and get to shelter.

By the time the young riolu made it back to his den he was drenched and covered in mud. That was he least of his worries when he saw the river; it looked strange. It was higher than usual, but the canine-like pokémon soon stopped worrying about the river and dashed into his den. Thankfully it was dry inside, and he wasted no time in trying to shake off his sodden fur. His lip curled in disgust when he saw how muddy his body was, and noted to have a bath in the river when the rain passed.

He sat and waited in his den, watching the rain pour from the sky. He felt a little moody and disappointed because he hadn't managed to get any food before the downpour, and being covered in slimy mud wasn't helping. Being hungry was bad enough, but being hungry, cold and wet was even worse.

He could hear the river roaring louder, but paid no attention to it. He was thinking about what he was going to do when the rain stopped. Maybe try a different area of the forest for food? An area he had never been to before? Maybe he could even venture _outside_ the forest? He immediately regretted that idea and discarded it from his mind. His thoughts were disturbed when he noticed the ground he was sitting on was becoming more and more wet. He looked down to see his den was becoming flooded, and with a yelp of surprise, leapt to his hind legs. He didn't understand what was happening. How was this amount of water seeping into his den? Surely it couldn't be raining _that_ much? He edged his way to the entrance of his den and, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, saw why. The river was swollen and broken, gushing water out into the nearby fields. This was the reason why his mother said they needed to move dens.

The young riolu needed to move. If he didn't get out of there soon, the river was going to eat him. As he hesitantly moved out, he looked back at his flooded den and felt a pang of sorrow. He had lived here since he had hatched, this was the last place he had seen his mother. Reluctantly, he moved away from the den, but his eyes were still on it as the water rose. It was coming up to his middle, but still he hesitated. What would he do without the shelter of his den? Where would he go?

In one swift moment, a wave river water smashed into the fighting type. He didn't even have a chance to prepare as the river swept him away. He let out a cry, trying to fight against the currents of the water, but he was too weak. He tried to swim towards solid land, but within minutes the muscles in his limbs began to burn with exhaustion. The river bashed him so hard he went under the surface, swallowing water instead of breathing air. He'd come back up to choke, trying to breathe only to swallow more water. He didn't know how long he spent fighting, it could have been minutes or hours, but eventually his energy faded. He tried to call out for help, but it was lost as he was pulled under again. Instead of fighting to get to the surface like before, he kept on falling deeper as the river pulled him along. He wanted to breathe so desperately his lungs were burning, but the surface was fading further and further. He felt tired and closed his eyes.

His body felt strange. It felt like it was no longer moving, and that there was a strange energy holding him in place. Was it his spirit passing on? Was he finally dead? No...he could still feel the river rushing past him, so what was this feeling? The feeling of energy grew stronger, and it felt like it was pulling him up. Higher and higher it felt like he was rising, until he broke through the water's surface. He coughed weakly as he was levitated through the air, the rain still coming down hard. His body hung limply, and it was difficult to breathe with the amount of water in his lungs. He felt his body being gently laid on the ground, his nose twitching involuntarily when he felt a blade of grass tickle it. He began to cough violently, small amounts of water spluttered from his mouth. He coughed for several minutes before finally having the energy to look up, and despite his blurry vision, he was able to make out a pair of bright violet eyes before blacking out.

* * *

Tyrus didn't know how long he was unconscious. When he woke up his sense of hearing and smell came back first. He could faintly hear the breeze rustling the canopies of the trees while the starly called to each other. He could smell the damp, musky scent of the earth and the forest. The next sense that returned to him was feeling. His muscles ached and burned, trying to move his limbs caused them to scream in agony, so he remained still. After a few minutes, he finally attempted to open his eyes. When he managed to flicker his eyes open, he was greeted with bright sunlight and whined before closing his eyes again. The sudden noise was noticed.

"I see you're finally awake," a calm, female voice spoke.

Tyrus froze, remembering the pair of glowing eyes before blacking out and realised someone _had_ rescued him. His saviour took notice of his distress.

"No need to be afraid," she assured, "just rest. Your muscles are still sore from your fight against the river."

He opened his mouth to ask who the stranger was, but found his mouth and throat were incredibly dry. Instead, he croaked for water.

"After what you've been through, I'd have thought you would have had enough water." Regardless of the stranger's joke, Tyrus felt something press against his lips and opened his mouth as soon as he tasted water. He couldn't help but gulp the water down, it was like heaven having the delicious liquid run down in parched throat. He whined before coughing when the water was taken away.

"Slow down, you'll choke."

Feeling somewhat stronger, Tyrus tried to open his eyes again. After wincing and letting his eyes adjust to the light, he came face-to-face with those bright violet eyes again. He blinked and took in the rest of the strange pokémon's form. The feline-like pokémon had light purple fur and large, cat-like ears. There was a small red gem embedded in her forehead, and her tail was long and thin before the ends were naturally split into two. He noticed she wore a dark blue tail band, reaching from the bottom to just before where her tail split. It took Tyrus a moment to remember what pokémon she was.

"Espeon..." he mumbled to himself.

The espeon nodded. "Yes."

Tyrus frowned. "Who are you?"

"My name is Helia."

"Why did you save me?"

Helia didn't reply. Instead, she looked at the object that was levitating beside her, and her eyes glowed blue. Tyrus flinched when the strange object floated over to him. It looked like it was made of some kind of leather, and it had a hole at the top with a cork hanging off it. From the sound of the water slushing in side, this is what the espeon used to quench his thirsty. He glanced back at the espeon.

"Do you not what any more?" she questioned.

Tyrus did, but he wanted to know what the object holding the water was first. "What is it?"

"Hm? This?" Helia looked at it before looking back at Tyrus. "This is called a 'flask'. Have you never seen one before?"

"No," the young riolu replied. "My mother never told me about...flasks... What are they used for?"

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Helia asked in a matter-of-factly tone. _Not really,_ Tyrus thought. "It's for carrying water. When you travel and explore, you'll end up in lands that have small or next to no water sources. So you have to be prepared and take your own."

"A-amazing..." Tyrus murmured. "Mother and I never had to use those because we were so close to the river, but they sound so useful."

Helia said nothing to that. After a moment, she asked if Tyrus could sit up, and after a small struggle of aches and pains, he managed it.

"Drink," she said, levitating the flask into Tyrus' paws.

"Thank you," Tyrus said gratefully, and brought the flask to his mouth before gulping it again.

"Slow down."

"S-sorry." He began to sip instead.

After a moment of silence, Helia spoke up again. "What were you doing so close to the river in the first place? Don't you know the river is prone to flooding this time of year?"

"Flooding?" Tyrus asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, it's when so much rain falls that the river can no longer stay in its banks," Helia explained. "It swells so much it bursts onto land and washes away all in its path. Surely your mother must have told you to stay away from the river?"

Tyrus looked down with a pained expression. There was still so much he didn't know because his mother didn't get to teach him. Helia's ears perked at Tyrus' sudden change of demeanour.

"What's wrong?"

"...my mother...disappeared two moons ago," Tyrus finally said quietly.

Helia looked away and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"There's so much about the world that I don't know about," he continued. "My mother never had the chance to teach me, she probably thought she had time. It's a miracle I've managed to survive this long without her." Tears were gathering in his eyes as he spoke, some were rolling down his cheeks, dampening his fur. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I've barely managed to feed myself. I don't know how to fight or protect myself. I don't know anything outside of this forest... I don't know what to do..."

Tyrus broke into quiet sobs before curling in on himself. Helia looked at him with pity lurking in her eyes before dismissing it. Now was not a time for pity or to be pitied. She could empathise with the young riolu, because she too was once in his situation. Alone and scared, and totally oblivious and ignorant to how the world _truly_ worked. Right now, he didn't need to be pitied, he needed to be _taught_. She levitated the flask away from him before opening her exploration bag, pulling out apples and berries before laying them out in front of the troubled youngster. If he was to learn, he'd need to be healthy and well fed. A task Helia was more than willing to take on.

Helia waited patiently until Tyrus calmed down. It was fairly amusing to watch his crumpled expression change into a look of excitement as his tail wagged at the prospect of food. She highly doubted he had had this much food to himself in a while. He looked up with expectation, and she nodded immediately; it was then Helia realised how hungry he had been. He grabbed an apple and tore into it, its sweet flavour making him eat faster. At times Helia had to tell him to slow down in case he'd choke. It didn't take long until Tyrus was full. He fell on his back and let out a sigh of content.

 _At least he's resilient,_ Helia mused to herself as Tyrus thanked her in a daze. That would help him in the long run.

"You didn't answer my question." The young riolu's voice cut her thoughts short. She blinked at him, not truly understanding what he meant. "Why did you save me?"

 _Ah._ "The reason is not important," was all Helia replied with.

"What? C'mon, you have to give me more than that!" Tyrus whined childishly.

Helia let out a small noise of amusement. "Now, now, isn't there something you haven't told me, yet?"

"Like what?"

"Like your _name_."

" _Oh_! R-right, I'm Tyrus," he said hurriedly before adding, "pleased to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tyrus," Helia replied with a smile.

"And, um, thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome, let's just hope it doesn't become a habit."

Tyrus blinked. "Huh?"

"You want to learn more about this world, yes?" Helia asked, and Tyrus nodded. "You won't learn about it all in this forest. That's why I'd like to invite you to travel with me."

"Y-you mean, like me joining your pack?" he asked hopefully.

"Something like that," the espeon replied.

Tyrus leapt to his feet, his tail swaying back and forth. "Thank you so much! I-I promise I'll do my best!"

"I'm sure you will." Helia rose to all fours, levitating the water flask back into her exploration bag before clipping that onto her back. She turned back to Tyrus who was watching in wonder. "Well then, shall we?"

Tyrus nodded with a look of determination. Helia led them onto a path leading out of the forest, passing the still swollen river and Tyrus' old den. He stopped momentarily to glance back his old home, feeling somewhat wistful. He no longer had a permanent place, he had found a way out of the forest.

"Tyrus? Are you coming?" Helia called to him.

"Yeah," he called back, casting one more glance at the forest before turning to catch up to Helia.

This was just the beginning.

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Almost dying twice in just the first chapter. This is going to be a fun character to write.

Feel free to leave a review.

AD.


	2. Meeting the Bickering Pair

**Summary:** Two hundred years after humanity's fall, Pokémon now live without the presence of humans. After generations of stories and tales being passed down, a small group of explorers decide to try and find out what really happened to humanity, and what the strange extinct species truly existed for.

 **Warnings:** Violence, some blood and (maybe) gore, profanity, survival, maybe shipping.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon and I don't intend on making any profit from this fan fiction.

 **A/N:** Hey, look who finally updated! I'll make this quick. I know I said on my profile that my updates would be spontaneous at best, but I'd like to give myself some kind of schedule. I'm going to try and update this at least once a month.

I'd like to thank those who have reviewed, faved and followed this so far. I'm glad people are enjoying it. ^^

Enjoy!

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 **Chapter 2: Meeting the Bickering Pair**

 _Heartfire, cycle 208_

Tyrus and Helia had been walking for about twenty minutes or so. The trees were starting to thin out as the rain began to fall again, much to Tyrus' dismay. Their journey so far had been in silence, and not because Tyrus was too shy to say anything, but because he didn't know _what_ to say first. He had so many questions to ask Helia. About the world, about the pokémon living in it, about why Helia herself was exploring it. He didn't know where to start. He was so _curious_. Eventually, he settled on Helia's ability to levitate things.

"So, how do you do that thing you do?" he asked, and the espeon gave him a look that said she had no idea what he was talking about. "You know, moving things in mid air. That's how you pulled me out of the river, right? Can you teach me?"

"You mean how I levitated the water flask?" Tyrus nodded and Helia gave him a hopeless smile. "I don't think it's possible to teach you how to do it. It's a move called 'Psychic'. Most psychic type pokémon, like myself, are able to learn it. It's quite a useful and powerful move."

"A move?"

"Yes, they're specific techniques pokémon can use in battle. But they can also be used outside of battle as well."

"It's sounds complicated..."

"You'll get the hang of it."

They fell back into silence again. It only lasted a few minutes as Tyrus spoke up again, this time about Helia's appearance.

"That's a nice tail band," he commented as he glanced at it, and Helia flicked her tail in response. "Where did you get it? Did you make it?"

"It was given to me a long time ago," Helia said.

"By who?"

"Someone dear to me."

"Oh." Tyrus glanced up and noticed the espeon had a small notch on the underside of her left ear. "How did you hurt your ear?"

Helia looked at him before twitching her ears. "Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where words no longer have any effect, so you must resort to other measures instead."

"You got into a fight?" he asked with interest.

"Yes, but it happened a long time ago."

Tyrus was about to ask another question when he saw something in the distance. It was slightly taller than the trees, and as they drew closer, there appeared to be more than one. The scenery changed, and trees were dotted about instead of being clustered together. Tyrus' jaw dropped when they finally reached the first of the large structures. It was plagued with weeds and ivy growing through the cracks that had been caused with age. There was broken glass hanging off the rectangular holes in the walls, and some parts of the structure had even broken off. Tyrus backed away from it with his tail between his legs, it felt like it was going to fall on him at any moment.

"Are you okay, Tyrus?" Helia asked with concern.

"H-Helia...what _is_ this?" he whispered. "Why are there so many of them?"

Helia looked up at the structure before speaking. "These are old buildings created by a species called 'humans'. They disappeared over two hundred cycles ago, leaving their old relics behind. Leaving us to wonder what they really were."

"Were they a type of pokémon?" he asked.

"No, they were different from pokémon. From what I found in my studies, they were intelligent and powerful, but they also had a weak side. As far as I know, that weak side is what caused their end."

"Were humans bad or something?"

Helia tilted her head in consideration. "I'm not really sure. Before their end, they had walked side-by-side with pokémon hundreds of cycles prior. But they fell into conflict with themselves, and then eventually disappeared. No one knows what really happened to them, or why they existed in the first place."

Tyrus took note of the hint of excitement in the espeon's voice. "It sounds like you really want to know."

"Yes," she replied, "that's why I started exploring. To find more information on humans. To find out who or what they were, and why their existence suddenly ended."

"My mother never told me of humans," Tyrus admitted.

"I'm not surprised. Not many pokémon really care about humans. Stories and tales float around, but the only ones who really care are pokémon like myself trying to find the truth." Helia looked up as the rain stopped and the clouds began part, the sun was going down. "We need to hurry."

Helia led Tyrus deeper into the labyrinth of crumbling structures. He noticed that the path changed as well. It was firmer, and made of stone that was cracked with weeds growing out. There were more pokémon about as they ventured deeper, standing out in the open with one another. They acted completely different to the pokémon who lived in the forest. It was like the way they acted was...organised. Some of them nodded to Helia who nodded back in acknowledgement. Tyrus wanted to ask her so many questions about the strange place they were in, but was too frightened to speak. He stayed as close as possible to the espeon.

Helia took notice of his distress. "Don't worry. We haven't got much further to go now."

"It's so different to the forest," he said quietly so only Helia could hear. "It's like they're not afraid of predators..."

"That's because the way the pokémon live in these settlements is different to the way pokémon live in the forest." She stopped briefly to look around, settling on a direction to go in before choosing the route through the empty stalls. "Pokémon who live in settlements like these are organised, civilised, while the pokémon who live in the forests and mountains are wild, feral. We live in separate worlds, but that doesn't mean we've cut each other off. If anything, we help each other. There are some pokémon who were born in the forests and mountains that join the pokémon in settlements, while there are some pokémon born in settlements that move into the forests and mountains."

"Has it always been this way? Why live in separate worlds?"

"It's been this way since before I hatched. I guess neither world really mind it."

Their conversation was cut short when a pokémon, who was packing up the last of its stall, saw and called out to Helia. Tyrus yelped and hid behind sun pokémon who stopped and looked in the other pokémon's direction. It had white fur with two brown horizontal lines going across its back, and long arms with two large claws growing out of the end of its paws. Needless to say, Tyrus was intimidated by the stranger.

"Yo, Helia," the vigoroth greeted with a toothy grin, "where've you been?"

"Damek," she said in a pleasant tone, "I've been in the forest."

"Since last sun?" Damek questioned. "What for? Huh? Who's the kid?"

Tyrus hid behind Helia even further when the normal type noticed him. Helia glanced at Tyrus before looking back at Damek. "You were right."

The vigoroth blinked. "About what?"

Helia flicked her tail in irritation. "About seeing a young pokémon alone."

"Oh! So this is him, huh?"

"Yes," she looked back at the young riolu. "It's okay, Tyrus. This is Damek, he's a friend."

Tyrus peered at him from behind Helia's form. "A friend...? Is he part of your pack?"

"Thankfully no," she replied.

"What do you mean 'thankfully'?" Damek demanded to know with an offended tone. He dropped the issue when Helia gave him a sharp look. "W-whatever... What took you so long anyway? You know they're worrying about you, right?"

"We just ran into a little trouble, that's all." Helia inclined her head at Tyrus before moving again. "We'll be off now, Damek."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied before grinning at Tyrus. "See you around, kid."

Tyrus said nothing, but offered a small grin before following close behind Helia. His eyes were everywhere, taking in every detail of the ancient city. Eventually, he commented on his meeting with Damek.

"He was funny," he said as he eyed a small group of aipom that leapt passed.

"Damek is an idiot," Helia replied bluntly before continuing, "but he's useful. He's the best at getting information others usually can't. He's helped me in ways I'll probably always be in debt to."

Those words caused Tyrus to think. He remembered what Helia had said just a few minutes ago, _you were right about seeing a young pokémon_. Did that mean Helia being in the forest wasn't just a coincidence? Had she really been there to help him? Why? He looked up at the espeon, feeling more and more confused by the moment. Who was she, and why was she helping him?

"Hey, Helia?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you save me from the river?"

Helia stopped and gave him an exasperated look. "Because you would have drowned?"

"That's not what I meant."

The espeon's expression became more sincere. She knew exactly what Tyrus meant, but said nothing in response. The two continued to stare at each other until Tyrus shuffled awkwardly before looking away. He didn't know what to say in the current situation. In the end, neither got a chance to say anything as a female voice rang out.

"Lia!" Out of nowhere, a brown rabbit pokémon lunged at Helia before wrapping her paws around the espeon's neck in a hug. Tyrus yelped and jumped back in surprise. "You're okay! We were so worried!"

"Only _you_ were worrying like an idiot," a male voice said, and Tyrus saw a red lizard pokémon with a flaming tail walk over to the pair. "It was obvious Helia had an important errand to run."

Helia returned the buneary's embrace by placing a paw on her back before giving the charmeleon an amused look. "I'm sure you weren't worrying at all."

The charmeleon crossed his arms and looked away. He said nothing in response.

"What took you so long?" the buneary asked as she pulled away, looking both relieved and somewhat upset.

"I had something important to do," Helia replied, and the charmeleon mumbled something that sounded like 'I knew it'. "I'd like you both to meet someone." She turned to Tyrus who flinched and looked nervously at the two strangers. "This is Tyrus."

Tyrus glanced at Helia before looking back at the two pokémon who were giving him looks of curiosity. He gulped before finally speaking. "H-hi..."

They both blinked before speaking at the same time, their impressions of the young riolu were very different.

"He's so cute!"

"What's with the brat?"

The two glared at each other, obviously not liking the other's response.

" _Cute_? You're calling that runt, 'cute'?" the charmeleon asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am," the buneary said defiantly. "What about you? What right do you have calling him a 'brat' _and_ a 'runt'?"

"I call it how I see it, and I see a bratty runt!"

"Arceus, you're so arrogant sometimes!"

"How is telling the truth arrogant? Brats should only use words they understand."

"Excuse me? You always treat your opinions as facts! You're the brat! An arrogant brat, that is."

Their bickering continued, leaving Tyrus to watch in confusion. He looked up at Helia for an explanation, but the espeon only sighed before her eyes glowed blue. Tyrus' confusion transformed into fascination as the two pokémon stopped moving, their muscles struggling against Helia's psychic power before being risen into the air where they remained suspended. Helia stepped forward, her eyes still glowing. She allowed their heads to move.

"As amusing as your bickering can be sometimes, that's no way to behave in front of a new member of our team," she scolded, causing the two stare in shock.

"Really?" the buneary asked excitedly, seemingly forgetting that she was still suspended in the air.

"Helia, you can't be serious," the charmeleon said incredulously. "He's still just a hatchling at best."

"I-I'm five moons old!" Tyrus exclaimed.

"He's still just a hatchling at best," the charmeleon repeated and Tyrus frowned.

Helia finally set the two pokémon back on the ground carefully before introducing them. "Tyrus, I'd like you to meet your new teammates. This fluff ball of excitement is Vilissa -" said buneary was bouncing on the tips of her hind paws, grinning cheerfully at Tyrus, "- and this reptile full of hot air is Reider." The charmeleon glared at Helia before crossing his arms again and turning his nose up in a prideful manner. Tyrus tilted his head as he stared at the trio, it was odd seeing such different types of pokémon together in a pack. He never saw two different species of pokémon make a pack in the forest, everyone usually kept to their own kind.

Vilissa hopped right in front of the young riolu, causing him to yelp in surprise and fall back on his rump. Vilissa couldn't help but laugh before smiling apologetically, holding out a paw to help him up. After a moment of staring at the buneary with wide eyes, Tyrus hesitantly placed is paw in hers before being pulled to his feet. He noticed that Vilissa's coat and fur was in a far better condition than his. Instead of being patchy, her fur was clean and tidy, and the cream fur growing on the lower half of her body and on the tips of her ears was immaculate and fluffy. Like Helia, Vilissa too wore an accessory; a pink scarf tied around her neck to have a bow at the side. Despite being younger than Vilissa and skinnier than he should be, Tyrus was at least a foot taller than her.

He flinched when she grinned at him. "Sorry for scaring ya. I just got so excited, you know? I mean, a new _teammate_! Ah! As a proper welcome to the team, you need an official nickname. Everyone here has one – made by _me_ of course. Let's see...oh! I know, how about 'Ty'? Ty sounds like an awesome name, don't you agree, Ty? Of course, you need to address us by our nicknames as well. Mine is Vili -"

"Vilissa..." Reider growled, his eyes narrowing at the buneary.

" _Vili_ ," she reinforced, casting a dark look at the charmeleon before continuing cheerfully. "Helia's nickname is Lia, I mean, why _wouldn't_ it be 'Lia'? It suits her!"

"Vilissa."

"And Reider's is Rei. It _kinda_ suits him, but his name is kind of awkward to make a nickname from. Especially when he wouldn't let me call him 'Der-der'."

"I'm not letting you call me 'Rei', either!" Reider roared, baring his teeth at Vilissa.

She frowned. "Well, of course you are, Rei. Anyway," she turned back Tyrus like there wasn't a red, angry lizard that breathed fire standing right behind her, contemplation whether or not he should just burn the buneary where she stood. "It's pretty simply, right Ty?"

Tyrus blinked at her blankly. Apparently it wasn't as simply as Vilissa had stated.

"W-what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "What don't you understand? I-I mean, it couldn't be simpler, right?"

"Vilissa," Helia spoke up and stepped towards the two, "even _I_ barely understood what you were talking about. You ramble when you get excited, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," she sighed, her ears drooping slightly, "I do, don't I? Sorry, Ty, I didn't mean to confuse you like that."

Tyrus eyed her for a moment longer before finally giving her a small smile. "It's alright...Vilissa."

Vilissa grinned back before correcting him, "Vili."

"Vili," he repeated and the buneary gasped before hopping on the spot with joy.

"He said it! He said it!" she squealed before turning to Helia and Reider. "Did you hear him? He called me 'Vili'! You two should take a page out of his book."

Helia nodded with a smile while Reider rolled his eyes. "Yes, Vilissa, we heard him."

As Tyrus and Vilissa began to chat, Reider turned to Helia looking very serious. "If this kid is only five moons old, then why the hell isn't he with his mother? And why have _you_ taken on the responsibility of taking care of him?"

Helia glanced at the young riolu before meeting Reider's eyes. "I'm afraid that's for Tyrus himself to tell. As for why I have taken him in, I cannot tell you yet. All I can ask is that you trust my judgement."

"I'm kinda detecting a hint of wisdom being thrown at me here."

Helia let out a short laugh in response. She looked up at the sky when she noticed their surroundings had begun to dim as the sun set, and decided it was time to head back to the resting shelter.

* * *

Helia led the small group deeper into the labyrinth of ruins. The tall, clustering structures combined with the streets becoming darker and more shadowed was making Tyrus feel anxious and unnerved. It was very quiet, far more quiet than the forest he lived in. He would usually hear the sounds of bird pokémon singing, and the river's currents flowing past his den. There would always be some kind of noise in the distance, but the only sound here was their footsteps. Occasionally he would hear the call or a cheer of a pokémon from somewhere else in the ruined settlement, but it would die away as soon as it was emitted. Tyrus didn't understand how the others were so at ease.

Vilissa must have noticed Tyrus' unease, because she looked over at him with a concerned expression. He smiled sheepishly and waved a paw, he really didn't want to go and worry his new pack mates.

"Helia?" Tyrus and Vilissa flinched when Reider spoke out of nowhere before realising the espeon had stopped moving. "What's wrong?"

She was stood perfectly still, her eyes were trained on the alleyway to their left. Reider's body became more tensed, ready to counter any attack that could come. Vilissa stood slightly behind the two older pokémon, her ears were rolled up and she looked very nervous. Tyrus gulped and tucked his tail between his legs in fear again, he wasn't enjoying this adventure through the settlement at all.

After a tense moment a pokémon Tyrus recognised emerged from the alleyway. It was the vigoroth he and Helia met earlier, except he didn't look as relaxed as he had before. He kept glancing back anxiously as if something or someone was about to jump out and attack him.

Helia relaxed slightly at the sight of Damek, but kept her guard up. "Damek, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, looking somewhat relieved to see Helia, "I just hate being out here so late, y'know? I don't wanna be out here when the night hits..."

"What happens at night?" Tyrus asked. Nights had always been dangerous for diurnal pokémon like himself as nocturnal predators would make an easy meal of him if he didn't make it back to his den in time, but the way Damek was afraid felt different.

"Nocturnal gangs come out," Helia explained. "They prey on any pokémon in the streets at night, be it diurnal or nocturnal."

"So, like nocturnal predators in the forest?"

"Kind of. Sometimes they kill their victim, sometimes they don't. The main reason for the attack is to take their possessions."

Tyrus looked shocked. "Why would they do that?"

"It's called 'survival', kid," Reider snarled, glaring at the young riolu. "It's what they do. It's how it's always been, that's why we need to get moving. Right, Helia?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod before looking back at Damek, "would you like to join us to the resting shelter?"

"Yeah, thanks Helia," Damek said gratefully, looking very relieved.

The five resumed their trek to the resting shelter. Their pace was more hurried than before as the sun was setting faster, and Tyrus noticed more pokémon were heading the same way they were. It made him think about what Helia and Reider said about the nocturnal pokémon that appeared to prey on others for their possessions. It sent a chill up his spine and he tried to stay as close as possible to Helia in case something reached out from the alleys to snatch him into the shadows.

Eventually they arrived at the resting shelter. It was shorter than most of the other structures in the settlement, but wider. Its roof was red with a crumbled arch and had a faded symbol in the shape of a ball with a smaller ball inside. The windows had long been smashed and were now boarded up with pieces of wood. The doorway was blocked with wood as well, and pokémon were beginning to line up in front of it, looking anxiously around as the last rays of the sun were being swallowed by the horizon. It wasn't long before the entrance was unblocked, and pokémon were allowed inside. Tyrus glanced nervously at the two large pokémon standing at the entrance, ready to fight anybody that thought about causing trouble. He felt someone nudge his side and looked up at Helia to see her beckon him to follow.

Once they were inside the atmosphere changed drastically. The tension created by anxiety that blanketed everyone outside was immediately lifted when everyone knew they were safe for the night. Tyrus watched in wonder as the began to relax and chat with each other, finding their places to sleep. Damek stretched and bid them a 'good night' before heading off down a corridor. Like the exterior of the resting shelter, the interior was also cracked with weeds growing through the concrete. Fires were built to create light and warm up the building. There were two pink and tanned pokémon standing behind what looked like a counter, talking to a small group of pokémon before sending them on their way with gentle smiles. If Tyrus remembered correctly, they were audino.

"Irena, Lana," Helia greeted as she walked over to the counter.

"Hello, Helia," the audino on the right, Irena, replied.

"How have you been?" the audino on the left, Lana, asked.

"We've been surviving."

Both audino glanced behind the espeon at Tyrus before speaking in unison. "We can see you have a new member to your team."

"This is Tyrus," Helia introduced, moving aside before the young riolu could hide. He gave the two a nervous look before Vilissa grabbed his paw and waved it at them. She gave the two hearing pokémon a large grin, looking expectantly at Tyrus to do the same. After a moment of awkward glances between Helia, Vilissa and the audino, Tyrus gave a sigh of defeat and smiled somewhat timidly at Irena and Lana.

"He's cute," Irena commented.

"Very cute," Lana added with a nod.

No one noticed the small snort Reider let out as he crossed his arms and turned his head.

"So will it be the usual place today?" Lana asked.

"I'm sure it's free, the others usually know it's yours," Irena said.

"Not today."

"Huh? If not the usual place, then where are we sleeping?" Vilissa demanded to know.

"We'd like to rent a private room," Helia requested, much to the surprise of Reider and Vilissa.

Both audino nodded before speaking in unison. "That will be four red shards, please."

Helia was in the process of opening their exploration bag to pull out their currency pouch when Reider interrupted. "Hold on, Helia. We can't go wasting money like this."

"It's for Tyrus' benefit as well as ours," Helia said before her eyes glowed blue. She levitated out four red shards out of the small pouch, all of equal size and shape, before placing them on the counter in front of Irena and Lana.

Irena quickly gathered the shards up while Lana smiled and walked around the counter. "I'll show you to where you will be sleeping."

"I have something to do first," Helia said as she closed the exploration bag. "You three go ahead."

"Wait, I have to go talk to someone," Vilissa said quickly before grinning apologetically at Tyrus. "Sorry, Ty, I'm gonna have to leave you with grumpy Rei over here."

"Vilissa, I swear to Arceus..."

"Just look after Ty while we're gone. No burning him or biting him or scratching him."

"I'm not a houndoom, Vilissa," Reider grumbled before turning to the emanation pokémon. "Let's go, kid."

Tyrus glanced back at Helia and Vilissa before following Reider and Lana up a flight of stairs. As they turned a corner, Lana stopped in front of a large red and blue dragon. Tyrus had never seen such an intimidating pokémon before. Its entire body looked ridged and spiky, and its eyes were a piercing yellow. Tyrus gulped and retreated behind Reider, much to the charmeleon's irritation. The druddigon sized them both up before looking at Lana.

"They paid?" he asked in a deep, growling voice.

"In full," Lana replied cheerfully, and the druddigon stepped aside. "Thank you."

Lana led the two to a room a little further down the corridor the druddigon was guarding. She opened the rusting door and revealed a medium sized room with four sleeping spaces made of different kinds of soft material, and an unlit stone fire pit in the middle. Against the wall next to a boarded up window was an old-looking bookcase with several books stacked on the shelves. Besides the sleeping spaces, the fire pit and the bookcase, the room was quite bare. Tyrus had never slept in such a place before.

"I hope you in enjoy your stay," Lana said to them with a smile before bowing. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Rest well."

"Thanks," was Reider's only response.

"Ah, th-thank you," Tyrus said hurriedly.

Lana bowed again and left the room. Reider strode across the room to the fire pit, and took a deep breath. When Tyrus peered over to see what the charmeleon, he gaped in surprise when the other spat out a hot flame as he exhaled, igniting the fire pit and causing the room to light up. Reider chose a sleeping place and sat down in it, careful to keep his tail from setting it alight. When Tyrus hadn't moved from his spot by the door, he growled out a "well sit down, then". Tyrus sighed and complied to the charmeleon's order, taking notice of his attitude.

 _He really doesn't like me,_ he thought dejectedly as he watched the fire dance and burn. He allowed himself to glance at Reider from time-to-time, taking in the older pokémon's appearance. Reider was at least a foot taller than Tyrus, if not a few inches taller. Despite his fire aspect, his eyes were a cold, dark blue, and he seemed to to have a permanent frown on his lips. The light from the fire danced on his red scales, almost making it look like he was also on fire. Like Helia and Vilissa, he too wore an accessory; on both of his wrists was a black wrist band that seemed to fit perfectly. Tyrus realised he had been staring for too long and looked away, but it was too late. Reider had noticed.

"What?"

Tyrus shook his head. "Nothing..."

Reider narrowed his eyes at the riolu but said nothing. He looked away, apparently lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't long before Helia and Vilissa arrived.

"You got the fire going!" Vilissa squealed in excitement, sitting down right next to Tyrus. He didn't say anything in response, but appreciated the buneary's friendliness.

"You don't need to be so loud," Reider complained.

"Don't be such a grump, we _never_ get to sleep in private rooms."

"This won't be a common occurrence, Vilissa," Helia said, taking her sleeping spot. "It's just for tonight."

"Oh yeah, why _are_ we sleeping in a private room tonight?" the buneary questioned.

"To introduce Tyrus to what we're exploring for." Helia opened the exploration bag again and levitated out the largest book Tyrus had ever seen. She placed the book carefully in front of her, and Tyrus could just make out the shape of some kind of gear on the front cover. "I obtained this book when Reider and I were in a land called 'Hoenn'. We didn't have much on the existence of humans prior to this; only the knowledge of them actually existing and somehow becoming extinct. Before obtaining this book, our search for information about humanity was purely down to curiosity and simply not having a major goal to accomplish. That changed when we read this book. It revealed information about humans that gripped us. We wanted to know more, so when the book mentioned that there could be vital information in Sinnoh, we came here as soon as we were able to.

"We have only been here for about eight moons, and in that time we haven't found much information regarding humans. But a moon ago, we received a tip that there would be more information in the Canalave Settlement. So that has become our current destination."

"If you got the tip a moon ago, how come you aren't already there?" Tyrus asked.

"To get to Canalave, we have to cross water." Helia looked over at Reider. "As you can see, we can't swim. So we're waiting for a water pokémon large enough to carry all of us."

"That's why we've been staying in the Hearthome Settlement for a moon," Vilissa added. "It's the closest settlement to Canalave, and also very useful for trading."

"But it's also very dangerous," Reider said, glaring at the door. "The pokémon that come out at night will do anything to get your possessions, even if that means killing you."

"That's why we're taking precautions," Helia assured Tyrus, giving Reider a sharp look. "We've been staying in this resting shelter during the night. We trade, we exchange information, and we study this book in case we've missed something."

Tyrus looked down at the book again and his curiosity ignited. "What does the book say about humans?"

"All kinds of things." Helia opened it and turned to the first page, revealing writing Tyrus had never seen before. "The first page is written in a different language. No translator I have taken this to has ever been able to decipher it. For now, this remains a mystery to us." Helia turned the page again, and this time Tyrus saw writing he recognised. It was written in runes, and while he couldn't read runes very well, he recognised some of the symbols. Not enough to understand what was written, however. "The book doesn't go into great detail about how humans perished, and what they existed for. But it tells us about their relationship with pokémon. It tells us that they were powerful and intelligent, like I said before. It also explained their weakness."

"What was their weakness?" Tyrus asked curiously, his eyes shining.

Helia hummed and looked at the book. "Their weakness is too complicated for me to really explain right now. It wasn't just _one_ weakness, but many that contributed. The humans were superior in many ways, but for every strength you have, a weakness is likely to follow."

Tyrus frowned but said nothing. He wished he could read runes fluently like Helia. That's when an idea sparked in his head. "Can you teach me?"

"Teach you?" Helia repeated in puzzlement.

"Can you teach me how to read runes? Then you wouldn't _have_ to explain it to me, I'd be able to read it myself."

"I was already going to teach you how to read runes, anyway," the espeon said as she closed the book, much to Tyrus' disappointment.

"Aw, not yet!" he whined. "Just a little longer? I wanna learn more about the humans."

Helia and Vilissa laughed while Reider rolled his eyes before lying down. Helia spoke as she returned the book to their exploration bag. "It's getting late, and a certain young riolu needs his sleep."

"No I don't, I'm fi-aaaaawnn..." His sentence ended with an unintentional yawn.

"I think you do, Ty," Vilissa teased with a grin.

"So do you, Vilissa," Reider grunted from his sleeping space.

Before Vilissa could retort, Helia spoke first. "I think we all need to sleep."

Tyrus and Vilissa agreed with that. They settled down in their sleeping spaces as the fire began to die down. It was a strange, exciting feeling for Tyrus. He had never slept with anyone other than his mother before. As he curled up, he couldn't help but think how quickly his situation had changed. Last sun, he had been alone and starving without a parent to depend on. Now he had found a new pack with a new goal to accomplish. His heart began to race when he thought about all of the adventures he was going to have. He lay there for a couple of hours, just thinking about what the future would hold when he heard a voice.

"...Ty...are you still awake...?" Vilissa whispered to him.

"...yeah..." he whispered back, peering into the dark in Vilissa's direction.

"...I can't sleep..." He heard her giggle quietly. "I'm too excited..."

"...me neither... What do you think is going to happen tomorrow...?"

"Anything could happen..." Vilissa paused, probably listening out for any indication that Helia or Reider might be awake. "...are you glad you joined...?"

Tyrus thought about that. He was glad, and very grateful. Helia didn't have to save him, but she did. She didn't have to take him in and let him join their pack, but she did. He had known this pack for less that twenty-four hours, and already he was extremely grateful to them.

"...Ty...?"

"Yeah."

"Huh?"

"Yeah...I am glad I joined..."

"Ah...I'm glad you joined us, too..." Tyrus could hear the smile in Vilissa's voice.

"I'm glad Tyrus has joined us as well, but some of us are trying to sleep." Tyrus and Vilissa froze at the sound of Helia's voice before apologising together.

"We're sorry!"

"Damn kids, go to sleep..." Reider grumbled tiredly from his sleeping place.

Tyrus couldn't help but grin to himself. For the first time in moons, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

And there we are. All four main characters have been introduced. There may be new members to the team in the future, but only time will tell.

Feel free to leave a review.

AD.


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